FEATURE: S Africa hopes race quotas will unearth black athletes

The latest round of quota systems were adopted at a 2011 meeting of all sporting bodies and the government.

Rugby quotas will take effect next year and seven players in each 22-man Vodacom Cup — a second-tier competition below the Currie Cup — squad must be black, including at least two forwards.

Although the move has brought into question the possibility of sidelining other racial groups — namely Coloureds (mixed race) and Indians — Van Zyl said the early attempt at quotas was “a huge success” for the development of Coloured and Asian cricketers.

However, Anton Alberts of the small white opposition party Freedom Front Plus said he thinks imposing “race quotas is a step backward.”